Medicinal inhalant atomization



MEDECINAL INHALANT ATOMIZATION Leon Robert Canneto, Gakland, Calif., assignor to Mistoz Gen Equipment Co., Oakland, Calif., a corporation of California Application June 6, 1950, Serial No. 166,362

3 Claims. (Cl. 21-117) This invention relates to a method of medicating, and to a device with which to medicate, an atmosphere to be breathed by a medical patient.

Certain specic medical treatments are made possible through the use of my invention because by its use a solution is caused to form drops of uniformly small dimensions such that they are carried into the lungs with the atmosphere being breathed by the patient and penetrate far enough lthereinto for the absorption of both the drug and the oxygen of the atmosphere into the blood stream. Treatment of a patient in this manner is often more effecant o tive than, and also often a necessary alternative to, the

injection by needle into the blood stream.

Treatment by the use of this invention may be continued over a long period of time, for example, for several hours. @ver this period of time a certain quantity 'of the drug is uniformly mixed with oxygen for the patient at a constant rate and directedl into a tent occupied by the patient. Either pure oxygen or air are included in the means of treatment, not only for supplying the patients need for oxygen but, as well, to form part of the means by which the medicinal substance is dispersedl to form an atmosphere having a predetermined concentration of the drug.

Through the employment of the apparatus here described the volume of oxygen used isheldr to that required for the patients needs for oxygen as such, and this amount of oxygen is so dispensed as to also administer any required quantity of drug in` each such volumetric unit of oxygen dispensed. The drug initially is given a certain concentration in a solution of it with water. Accordingly, the rate of atomization of the solution and the concentration in the solution determine-the rate of administration of the drug to the patient. The dispensing of the oxygen is usually to be such that a fairly fixed rate, or volume at atmospheric pressurekv per unit of time, is achieved. It can be assumed that the oxygen is available from an oxygen tank whose discharge pressure is regulated within relatively close pressure limits with respect to a fixed average.

An atomizer employed in this invention measures the oxygen out of this pressure regulated source and is so designed that a substantial part of the energy of the compressed oxygen is utilized: rst, to pump the solution from a vessel of the solution; second, to measure the solution out from the vessel and the oxygen from the tank to associate them at a constant rate; third, to. break the solution up in a manner to reduce its concentration per unit volume; and to disperse it in a breathable atmosphere.

Through the employment of the apparatus here described, the volume of oxygen used isheld to that requiredv for the patients needs for oxygen as such, and this amount of oxygen is so dispensed as to also administer any required, quantity of` drug for each volumetric unit of oxygen dispensed. In this ratio the drug is carried into the lungs with the atmosphere being; breathed.

ICC

The -invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following specilication in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a section through an atomizing unit;

Fig. 2 is a section at plane 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section at plane 3-3 of Fig. 1

Fig. 4 is an enlargement at plane 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a section of a modified detail.

The apparatus is shown to include a suitable glass vessel or jar l0 having a screw threaded neck 12. For attachmentto the neck 12 I provide a cast body 14 having several functional features. The body 14 provides ay jar cover portion 16 which is formed to fit the jar neck 12 and to form a seal with it. Body 14 further provides a cup portion 18 dening an injection, mixing, and expansion chamber 20. The cover and cup portions include a common top and bottom portion 22 having an opening 24 for the equalization of pressures within the jar and the chamber 2Q.

The body 14 is further provided with an opening 26 concentric upon an axis (horizontal in the drawing) substantially perpendicular to the vertical axis of the jar and cover. An annular supporting ring 28 is formed integral with the cup wall and surrounds opening 26 on the inside of the cup. The opening 26 is disposed at a substantial distance above the bottom of the cup and the bottom portion 22 of the cup is joined to the wall and ring by a boss 30. A cylindrical hole 32 having its axis parallel to the axis of the cover 16 is disposed through the boss 30 inside the ring 23, and the integral portions therewith of the bottom cover 22,V for the reception of a draft tube 34. The upper rim of cup 18 is cylindrical and provides a flat rim 36 in a plane perpendicular to the cup axis.

A dispensing nozzle 38 is provided to release the mixture from chamber 20 into the surrounding atmosphere. Nozzle 33 comprises a cover portion Mi having an annular externally cylindrical skirt 42 for rotatable reception and adjustment Within the rim of cup 1S and has an annular shoulder 44 to abut the rim 36. The skirt 42 is further provided with a peripheral groove 46 into which the ends of twoor more screws 48, threaded through the i wall of cup 1S, project for detaining and securing the nozzle 3@ in any angular position on the cup rim.

Nozzle 38 is further provided with a relatively large olf-center passage, or a so-called third outlet, Sii through the flat portion 52 of the cover. A domelike d'eector 54 is formed integrally with the cover portion 52 around the. delivery port or opening 50. The deeetor terminates in a plane slightly off perpendicular to provide openings 56 through a suitable grid of parallel bars 5g. It will be observed that this nozzle provides relatively free passage of the mixture of oxygen and atomized drug solution from the chamber 20 to the surrounding atmosphere.

A thin walled tube 6i), constituting therethrough a passageway of substantial length, is secured to flange 2? concentric of the opening 26 and projects into chamber 2d so as to form a radial opening from tube 6@ between its free end 62 and the adjacent wall portion 64 of the cup. Adjacent its secured end, tube 66 is provided with longitudinal notches 66 and 66 for the reception and positioning in opening 26 of an assembly comprising an outer 0r rst nozzle body 68 having radial legs 70 and '76 the tips of which, in the operation of assembling, slide axially through opening 26 into the notches and dispose their ends. against the inside of the ange 23. One notch 66 adjoins the hole 32 and receives a leg '76 having a threaded hole therein for the reception of the threaded upper end of the tube 34. The openings formed between ilange` 28 and body 68'by legs 70 and 71B and tube 60, permit free ow of atmospheric air through opening 26 intor the chamber space 20.

The body 68 is bored centrally to leave a sleeve portion 72 for receiving in the outer end of the bore a closely and slidably fitted internal sleeve 74 having an externally beveled flange 76 abutting the internally beveled end of the outer sleeve as shown. The sleeves 72 and 74 form an internal chamber or space for fluid 78 with which the passage of tube 34 communicates. The sleeve 72 also provides a nozzle portion 80 having an axial cylindrical hole or passage part 82 extending from chamber 78 in tube 60. The sleeve 74 is of a diameter to be positioned concentric inside sleeve 72 and provides a central passageway 84 terminated by an internal second nozzle base 86. A straight cylindrical tube 88 is secured in the nozzle base with its axis coincident with the axis of hole 82. Tube 88 extends through chamber 78 and a predetermined distance into hole or passage part 82. The length of the portion of tube 88 within the hole or passage part 82 is significant as will be pointed out. This length may be adjusted by Illing 4olf the tip end.

The sleeve 72 is provided with a coupling thread 90 by means of which a suitable coupling to a flexible pressure hose may be attached for securing sleeve 74 in place and for conducting, directing and freeing oxygen through nozzle tube 88.

The hole or passage part 82 is preferably circularly cylindrical and the tube 88 is likewise preferably of uniform internal and external diameters. In one successful embodiment of my invention the hole or passage part 82 is about 0.313 inch long and .040 inch in diameter. The outside diameter of tube 88 is about .032 inch and its inside diameter is about .018 inch. With the pressure of the oxygen delivered at 84 being approximately 15 to 100 pounds per square inch, the stream of oxygen passing through tube 88 is restricted to that required by the patient. The Velocity of the stream of oxygen as it leaves tube 88 and as it enters the hole 82 surrounding the orifice of tube 88, is very high and maintains a very low pressure at that region. Accordingly the liquid solution in vessel 10 is forced, by atmospheric pressure, up through tube 34 and into the chamber 78 surrounding tube 88, whence it is drawn in the shape of a tubular column concentrically out and around the central nozzle 88 past its tip. The length of tube 88 in the bore 82, and the cross section and length of this tubular space, determines, for the most part, the amount of solution which can pass through its length in unit time, the pressures at the inlet and outlet of this passage being fixed by the oxygen pressure. The pressure conditions, for any particular assembly of the parts, are determined by the pressure applied at 84, which is dynamically pressurewise substantially isolated from the liquid in Vessel 10 by the restriction in and the direction of discharge of the tube 88.

With the arrangement as described several bodies 68 having different sizes of the hole 82, are interchangeably fixable in opening 26. This requires only the removal of cover 14 from vessel l0, and the unscrewing of tube 34 which tube constitutes the sole mechanical means of positive securement of body 68 in position within ring 28. It is clear that the sleeve 74 may itself be readily replaced by similar sleeves having nozzle tubes 88 of different dimensions so that different quantities of air and pressures and pressure drops may be provided for.

In the operation of the atomizer, atmospheric air is drawn through port 26, constituting a third inlet, and serves to supplement the requirement for dispersion of the droplets of solution into the atmosphere as the droplets are formed. The formation is greatly facilitated because the gas is released inside the tube of solution escaping from the hole 82 and expands rapidly and radially in rupturing the thin film of concentric solution.

The entire unit shown is usually placed in the tent occupied by the patient. By this method of administration, the free previously treated atmosphere is continually partially drawn into the inlet at 26 and into tube 60.

Atmospheric space outside of the device of Fig. l constitutes within any surrounding enclosure, whether a hospital room'or a tent, a free path for the mixture to travel through from port 58 to inlet 26 and such path is perforce formed in part by the exterior surface of said device and the interior surface of such tent or hospital room, which path forming means comprises a part of a recycling path in the generation of the aerosol mixture and the generation of and maintaining of an atmosphere in the surrounding space of high humidity. Thus, the treated atmosphere is free of unnecessary dilution as it would be were previously untreated atmosphere, or air from outside the tent, brought into inlet 26.

The provision for entry of a part of the ambient atmosphere through inlet 26, irrespective of whether the entire device is within the tent or it receives air to 26 from outside the tent, benefits the mixing process. The mixture of oxygen and solution escape from nozzle 88 at high velocity in the direction of chamber 20, wall baille portion 64, and the end of tube 62.

The expansion of the oxygentends to throw the small particles of solution radially to engage the surrounding walls of tube 60. This tendency is mitigated and controlled by the atmosphere aspirated through opening 26, the larger particles being collected on the inside surface of the tube and on wall surface 64 and thus being separated from the very small ones which change direction more readily and move axially with the aspirated stream out of the tube 26. This aspirated atmosphere rushes in continually, induced to such movement by the effect of high velocity fluid escaping at 82. The aspirated atmosphere serves to disperse the solution and oxygen and tends to prevent deposit of the liquid particles on the inside surface of tube 60. The arrangement of parts including the tube 60 in chamber 24 constitutes the atomizer an effective form of liquid particle classifier and separator. The device delivers liquid particles at outlets 56 ot' the order of from two to tlve or six microns in diameter. Although the action of the gas issuing from the tip of tube 88, inside of the discharging concentric tubular illm or tubular body of liquid in passageway 82 and surrounding therein the tube 88, results in the translation of the tubular liquid lm from the physical state of being a continuous cylindrically tubular body of liquid into a state of dispersion of liquid particles including predominantly particles of the dimensions recited above and which particles are capable of floating in gas as do other liquid particles in cloud formations generally, there also appears in chamber 28 some much larger particles of liquid which are incapable of drifting as do particles in a cloud. It is highly desirable that such large particles be prevented from issuing from the outlets 56 because they would, if released, immediately deposit on the patient in the tent, or onto the fabrics in the tent, and produce undesirable wetness. These larger particles, while themselves quite small, are believed to result directly from the imperfect breakdown action of the concentric nozzles or from the multiple recombination of pairs of the smaller particles which happen to join up in the chamber. Since the larger particles do not change direction readily and do not receive effective buoyant support from the surrounding body of upwardly moving oxygen, they either stop on the wall 64 and trickle down or they fall to the upwardly disposed surfaces of the bottoms of tube 60 and cover 22 and onto the top surface of tube 60, from which they run by gravity to and through the hole 24 of the cover 22 and into the jar 10 where they are again subject to pumping out through tube 34 by the aspirator action of the nozzles.

The tube 60 and the chamber formation together perform an additional function which is to give direction to the mixture and causei to escape at 50, instead of tending to merely circulate back to the zone of low pressure near nozzle 80.

The tube 60 terminates in tube outlet 62 juxtaposed to wall 64. The high velocity gas and fluid seems to lose its kinetic energy by impact on wall 64 and the pressure surrounding this region appears to be somewhat above atmospheric pressure so that liow is in the direction of the nozzle.

Some of the liquid particles, with some entrained oxygen and air, are deposited on the walls of tube 60 and on the wall 64 of member 14. This liquid drains oli for salvage through hole 24.

I claim.:

1. A double nozzle assembly for atomizing and mixing a liquid with a gas comprising a first nozzle body provided with a straight hole of uniform cross section defining a straight axis and having separated inlet and discharge openings and further provided with a straight cavity of larger uniform cross section than that of the hole joined with the hole inlet and coaxial with the hole axis for conducting a liquid under low pressure to the inlet of the said first nozzle; a second nozzle body having a nozzle tip portion disposed to discharge a iiuid inside the hole of the iirst nozzle in the direction of the outlet of the first nozzle and having a portion tted to slide into the straight cavity by linear movement alone and having a flange portion to engage the first nozzle body to position the tip portion in a fixed axial relation to the first hole discharge opening; a supporting member providing a discharge chamber and a jar cover and having an atmospheric opening through the chamber wall and further having a discharge opening from the chamber, a plurality of radial legs on the first nozzle body for engaging the chamber Wall around the atmospheric opening; and a draft tube extending from the cover and through one leg to the cavity in a manner to secure the first nozzle body in the supporting member.

2. A double nozzle assembly for atomizing and mixing a liquid with a gas comprising a first nozzle body provided with a straight hole of uniform cross section defining a straight axis and having separated inlet and discharge openings and further provided with a straight cavity of larger uniform cross section than that of the hole joined with the hole inlet and coaxial with the hole axis for conducting a liquid under low pressure to the inlet of said first nozzle; a second nozzle body having a nozzle tip portion disposed to discharge a fluid inside the hole of the first nozzle in the direction of the outlet of the first nozzle and having a portion fitted to slide into the straight cavity by linear movement alone and having a flange portion to engage the first nozzle body to position the tip portion in a fixed axial relation to the first hole discharge; a supporting member providing a discharge chamber and a jar cover and having an atmospheric opening through the chamber wall and further having a discharge opening from the chamber, a plurality ofradial legs on the first nozle body for engaging the chamber wall around the atmospheric opening; and a draft tube extending through the cover and through one leg to the cavity in a manner to secure the first nozzle body in the supporting member; a tube extending from the atmospheric opening into the chamber to form a tertiary nozzle having a discharge opening within the chamber axially about normal to the chamber wall; and

a drain hole in the cover portion.

3. A device for atomizing and mixing a medicinal liquid with a breathable gas comprising: a first nozzle having a cylindrical, open-ended bore, a supply of liquid at atmospheric pressure, and means connecting said liquid supply with the inlet end of said bore for conducting said liquid to said inlet end, a second nozle including a hollow, cylindrical tube of smaller outside diameter than the inside diameter of said bore projecting into said bore through said inlet end and terminating in an open discharge end a predetermined fixed distance short of the discharge end of said bore, said tube being formed to a constant cross section from a point spaced'rearwardly of' said inlet end of said bore to said discharge end of said tube and concentric with said bore for forming an annular space adjacent said inlet end of said bore, a supply of gas under pressure greater than atmospheric, and means connecting said gas supply and said tube for conducting said gas through said tube in the direction of said discharge end thereof, whereby exit of said gas from said discharge end of said tube aspirates said liquid through said annular space in the form of a hollow, cylindrical tube of liquid and atomizes said liquid, by expansion of said gas at said discharge end, into droplets the large majority of which are of very small particles size and thoroughly mixed with said gas, and a tertiary, hollow tubular nozzle concentric with said first nozzle and with the latter firing toward one open end of said tertiary nozzle, the other end of said tertiary nozzle being open to ambient atmosphere.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 578,436 Woodruff Mar. 9, 1897 1,382,640 Heinrich June 28, 1921 1,714,129 Lemoine May 21, 1929 1,913,347 Taylor June 6, 1933 2,034,113 Modica Mar.,17, 1936 2,040,630 Silten May 12, 1936 2,073,204 Friedrich Mar. 9, 1937 2,089,646 Friedrich Aug. 10, 1937 2,202,701 Lehmann May 28, 1940 2,202,953 Kessler .Tune 4, 1940 2,396,204 Robinson Mar. 5, 1946 2,428,277 Heidbrink Sept. 30, 1947 2,432,946 Theunissen Dec. 16, 1947 2,438,868 Trier Mar. 30, 1948 2,472,011 Graham May 31, 1949 2,516,401 Marcuse July 25, 1950 2,593,134 Gibbon Apr. 15, 1952 2,624,337 Gibbon Ian. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 731,062 France May 24, 1932 

